Raising the Stakes

The Richmond region is home to six Fortune 500 companies, anchored by Dominion Resources and Altria. While the outlying counties are still recovering from the recession of the late 2000s, the region's core localities are rebounding, with Richmond, Chesterfield and Henrico landing some of their biggest economic-development deals ever, such as the $85 million Amazon distribution center in Chesterfield and the $68.5 million expansion of Health Diagnostic Laboratory in Richmond. Recent and upcoming development projects offer some optimism in terms of the local economy's resilience.

POWHATAN COUNTY

Project: Weightpack

In January 2012, packaging machinery manufacturer Weightpack began a three-year relocation of its headquarters and operations from Italy to its existing plant in the county. The move includes a two-phase expansion of its Powhatan manufacturing facility. "Global success begins with local support; Powhatan is our first choice," says Weightpack President Joe Marannano.

Opened in 2009 with 11 employees in Richmond's Virginia BioTechnology Research Park, the advanced cardiovascular-testing firm plans to employ upwards of 1,000 workers by 2014, most of them high-paid laboratory staff. HDL, which is privately owned and has annual revenues of $250 million, is constructing a six-story building in Jackson Ward. HDL's growth is "just phenomenal," says Greater Richmond Partnership President and CEO Greg Wingfield. "In terms of the city, this is probably one of the biggest, fastest-growing companies that anybody's seen."

Size/Scale: 653 new jobs; 240,000 square feet

Type: Expansion

Completion Date: 2013

Cost: $68.5 million

HANOVER COUNTY

Project: Green Top Sporting Goods

After 65 years at its iconic green-roofed location on U.S. Route 1, Green Top Sporting Goods moved its hunting and fishing wares into the spacious, modern retail storefront vacated by competitor Gander Mountain in July 2012. It's a massive expansion for Green Top: The merchandise in its original store on the Hanover/Henrico border was crowded into just 12,000 square feet; the new, lodge-inspired store in Hanover County's NorthCross Center offers 54,000 square feet of retail and a 10-lane archery range. Green Top is also retooling its website for online sales. "We have pretty much outgrown this facility, and this gives us a significant increase in retail space," says Green Top President and CFO Bill Prout. "It's something we've needed for a long time."

Online mega-retailer Amazon built a 1.1 million-square-foot fulfillment center at Meadowville Technology Park in eastern Chesterfield just in time for the 2012 holiday season; the facility complements a $50 million Amazon distribution center in Dinwiddie County. Collectively, it's the biggest job-creating economic development project in Virginia since 2004. "We are certainly proud to add Amazon to our corporate family," says Chesterfield County Economic Development Director Will Davis. "[It] is a tremendous announcement for Chesterfield County."

The McLean-based credit card company is adding a new 200,000-square-foot office building; an 85,000-square-foot meeting and conference center; and a 2,000-space, six-level parking deck to its sprawling, 316-acre West Creek campus. "Capital One is very important to Goochland County. It's our largest employer," says county Director of Economic Development Matthew Ryan. "In a down economy, the fact that they're still having capital investment in West Creek is great for us, and it shows the power of Capital One."